#digooc

BACKGROUND.

born to wealthy investor for a father and an archaeologist for a mother. youngest of three and the best of all of them. augustus and serena, while brilliant in their own right, couldn’t compare to the sheer magnitude of seraphina’s genius. however, they’re more sociable and agreeable — palatable, really — whereas seraphina is quite content with just watching from afar

she has everything working for her to be well-known and well-liked among her peers, but seraphina’s an enigma at best, and when she doesn’t budge at the constant badgering at the lunch table, people got the hint. and so she suffered the silence as her only company.

this one girl in her class took a seat beside her one day, but she didn’t really speak. not for a few days. and then one day the girl asked if seraphina had a pencil sharpener she could borrow, and that was the start of it. easy, and not all at once. her name was iris.

the two girls were practically joined at the hip, always at each other’s homes often enough they earned an honorary seat at the dinner table. iris was very dear to seraphina, and as they grew older, she wondered if her feelings for iris was how everyone felt towards a friend.

while she was asking serena about it, they were overheard by their father. a v traditional man. had to give up a lot for his family to be where they are, and this — thing his daughter had managed to get caught up in, is an aberration. to violate the ideals he has held on as a structure for his success was a threat to his legacy. he whisks his youngest off to boarding school at the earliest chance.

of course, being the newest addition to the student body of institut le rosey is a big benefit to the institution. however, due to her ever-present vigilance, it becomes apparent to seraphina that the administration pays a particular attention reserved only for her. ah. her father must have made a considerable donation to the schools funds for her to have spies tailing her every move. something about protecting the legacy, seraphina guesses. fine, she figures.

she throws herself in a multitude of extracurriculars to fill up the spaces in her mind. turn herself into something of value. archery, aikido, fencing, even becoming an equestrian just to cover up whatever “flaw” her father thinks she has. but it’s still all he sees.

there’s an anger that grows in her like a seed. and what comfort could a mother offer leagues away in a dig site, covered by sediment and dust? facetiming with her siblings is a monitored affair, and she stops calling them after a while. it didn’t seem right for an instructor to be breathing down her neck while she asks augustus  how dinner was.

so, seraphina turned her genius into a knife. make sure no one will be able to find her footprints online. it takes a little bit of staying up late trying to learn code, but eventually, she makes something work.

GILCHRIST.

it’s her project that earns her a scholarship at the esteemed institution, as well as an invitation to the Gravediggers for her potential to contribute as a fully-fledged member. she navigated most of the initiation trials with a flourish, and though she was reluctant at first, seraphina has come to find her own sort of family during her stay at gilchrist, even becoming president for a time

she’s a steady shoulder to lean on, if that’s what you needed. a voice of reason, when she can spare the few words. seraphina becomes fiercely protective of what the society had meant to her during her years as a student and will go at any length to protect its interests. but above all she upholds the bonds its members make for themselves, their loyalty to each other. though not many were able to witness her leadership, it makes itself known in the society’s history like time wears itself on an artifact: respected by those who came before it.

once she has graduated, she tries to maintain her connection with some members, though respects a choice to be left alone.

PRESENTLY.

she becomes a consultant for a lot of companies as a day job, and in her free time, she refines her personal projects. over time, she notices a pattern emerging like an impression, and seraphina uncovers it to discover a web solely controlled by an unknown entity, with many agents acting according to its will

seraphina tracks the signal to reykjavík, in a penthouse that ought to have more security for what it’s worth. a man sits in front of numerous screens, and he almost looks relieved at the sight of her. “good,” he says, “it took you long enough.” and seraphina comes to know this man as her mentor, noah.

( tw: death ) he passes due to complications with his health a couple of years later and he leaves his information network, operations, and agents into seraphina’s care. no one is aware of the change in leadership. noah has only begun preparing seraphina to oversee such an expansive responsibility, and coming into it suddenly is a tall order, but seraphina wants it. the finer details about morality in her type of trade is something she will have to determine for herself. it is far too easy to do the wrong thing. ( end tw )

though she knows the university has closed down, seraphina can't afford sending an agent to uncover the finer details behind the vagueness of the letter sent to her out of respect for the society's privacy, so she sends herself